Im a really big fan of the raptor 700r. I had a near mint '07 but sold it and am after another. i really like the fact ( in my opinion ) that you can ride the stock setup and have loads of fun vs say like the 450's you have to pipe em. I like the ergoes, cushy seat, chain adjustment, its a well built machine with a great reliability record. However, there has to be something you would like Yamaha to do to improve these already BADASS machines. I was thinking lowering the center of gravity, lower seat hight, Reverse mechanism should be mounted on the bars (like the Kawi 450r ), maybe even a clamp on style air filter. What do you think yamaha should do?
- Brighter headlights. This goes for all Yamaha models, it's dangerous to drive those things at night! I miss my Renegade's headlights, man those were like driving in broad daylight.
- Wider stance stock and perhaps a bit lower. They are tippy stock.
- Rev-limiter should go and be replaced by a cut-off at slightly higher RPM than what the limiter is at.
- Something better for a rear brake, mine is going through pads like candy
- Better stock tires, they just plain suck
- As much as I like the 700's reliability, a more serious engine would be good. With Can-AM and Polaris putting out stock engines in the 70+ HP, I would think Yamaha could step it up a bit. Heck, the KTM/Outlaw is putting out 50hp stock with a 525 engine, we should at the very least have a stock engine that puts out 60hp.
- A larger gas tank and/or some racks to carry more fuel. ~100-125 km of range isn't enough for where I ride.
- A more detailed instrument cluster would be nice with RPM, engine temperature, oil pressure, etc.
- A better rear bearing setup would be nice. One that could be bathing in oil instead of grease would make them last significantly longer and wouldn't cost much if anything to design.
- Bigger/stronger chain. I really like the DS650's setup, I wish we had that strong a chain.
Of course, that's all wishful thinking

I really like my Raptor as is, but it would be nice if Yamaha got up their ass and did an overhaul of the Raptor. It's been 5 years of more of the same now, would be nice to get a revamp.